New York Homecoming
by lavenderspark
Summary: Picks up where season 4 left off. How season 5 should start. Liza leaves Ireland to have an important conversation with Charles.


"Oh. Oh, no." Liza said, her phone pressed to her ear. She turned to face Maggie, "Shit."

"What? What's wrong? Is it Caitlin?" Maggie asked, trying to interpret the look of horror on her friend's face.

"No, thank god," Liza said shaking her head. "Charles called. During the ceremony. He thinks I came here to marry Josh."

"Oh. Oh, that's bad," she said, pulling Liza away from the other wedding guests. "Call him, right now."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I can't do this on the phone. I'm going to the airport. Right now."

"Ok, we'll go say goodbye and go."

"No," she said looking over at the newly wedded couple, "They got what they wanted from me. Pack your stuff, we're going now."

She walked up to her room and started throwing her few things into her suitcase and called a cab to take them to the airport. Then she called the airport to move their flight to the next available flight out. As she walked out the door to meet Maggie, she sent a text, _We need to talk._

She put her suitcase in the trunk with Maggie's and climbed into the cab.

"You ok?" Maggie asked as the cab pulled away.

"No. What if I don't get there in time?" She said, her voice breaking.

"Did you tell him you're coming back?"

"I told him we needed to talk. I don't know what time the plane lands, I just booked the first non-stop flight out."

"Ok, so we should be there in about seven hours, tell him to meet you at the airport."

"But what if he doesn't come? You didn't see him on TV with Pauline."

"Honey, if he called you when he found out you were marrying Josh, even though you weren't, he'll be there."

They pulled up to the airport and the driver removed their bags, wished them a safe trip, and drove away. Liza went to the counter and got their updated tickets; handing Maggie her ticket, they made their way to security.

Charles still had not responded to her text by the time they reached their gate. Liza looked at her ticket, **Arrival 11:47pm**. She took a deep breath and sent another text, _Meet me at the airport. My plane lands at 11:47pm. Please, I need to talk to you._ She released her breath and boarded the plane.

She spent the entirety of the flight switching between anxiously staring out the window and staring blankly at the in flight movie. Her mind a swirl of emotion, only one thought repeated like a mantra: _Please be there._

When the plane landed, she felt light headed and her stomach was in knots. Maggie stretched and looked over at her. Placing a hand on Liza's arm, she said, "Hey. Breathe. He'll be there."

Maggie collected her carry on and moved into the crowd of people exiting the plane. Liza closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Gathering her courage, she grabbed her carry on and walked off the plane. She met up with Maggie at the gate and walked down to the baggage claim.

After finding their luggage Maggie hugged Liza, "Do you want me to wait with you?"

"No, I'll be ok. I'll wait a little while and then call a cab."

"Ok. Don't leave too soon, we did land early."

"Ten minutes. But, yes, I know. Go, get some sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning."

They hugged once more and Maggie left. Liza scanned the crowd around her, searching for any sign of him. Not seeing him, she made her way to a row of chairs and sat down. She nervously clicked through her emails on her phone, glancing up every few minutes. The knots in her stomach tightened every time she didn't see him.

As she finished her email and returned her phone to her purse, she looked up one last time. She sucked in a breath and the knots exploded into butterflies. There he was, striding toward her baggage claim. The dark blue of his sweater bringing out the blue of his eyes while the hunter green of the plaid shirt underneath brought out the hint of tan in his skin below the rolled sleeves. Liza swallowed nervously, collecting her bags, noticing the hard set of his jaw as he drew closer. Taking another deep breath, to calm the butterflies, she walked out to meet him.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," she said, stopping a few feet away.

Startled, Charles blinked and looked around. He'd been lost in thought as he made his way to the baggage claim. He stopped when he saw her, clutching her bags; looking at him with wide eyes, a hesitant smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Neither was I," he said looking away.

"Well I'm glad you did."

He sighed and looked back at her, "You made it sound important."

"It is," she said, silently pleading with him not to look away again, "I didn't marry Josh. I went to Ireland to-"

"You didn't marry Josh?" He asked, brows furrowed.

"No, I-"

He closed the distance between them in three quick strides, pulling her to him and crushing his lips against hers. Liza dropped her bags, sliding her arms around his neck to keep from falling, but also to pull him closer. He moaned deep in his throat, deepening the kiss. She keened, digging her nails into the back of his neck.

Whistles and cat calls from bystanders eventually brought them back to their surroundings. They pulled apart smiling and laughing nervously. Charles cleared his throat, "So, you were saying...?"

"Yes," she looked around, "Can we go sit somewhere?"

"Of course," he said, picking up her luggage.

They made their way to a small cafe that was still open, ordered coffee and sat at a table. After they had settled, Charles looked at her expectantly, "Why did you go to Ireland?"

Liza set her cup down, took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I'm not really sure any more," she paused and looked away, "Josh said he needed me there and I introduced them and we were supposed to be friends," she looked back at him, "Turns out he just wanted me there so Claire could get a green card to stay here in New York."

He raised his eyebrows, "He wanted you to lie for him? Why would you do that?"

"He blackmailed me," she said simply.

"I don't understand."

"That's the other thing I need to talk to you about."

He scowled down at the table, "What's that?" He asked looking back up at her.

"Please understand that I didn't want to, I did it because I was desperate."

"Liza..." his tone was sharp and serious.

She closed her eyes, "I lied," she said with a sigh. "I lied about my age to get a job," her eyes open and pleading.

His eyebrows knit together as he looked at her, "What?"

"I'm 41, not 27. I needed a job and no one wanted to hire me."

"...Ok, but what does that have to do with Josh?"

"He's the one that gave Maggie the idea."

When Charles still looked confused, she continued, "I had had a long day of terrible interviews and went out for a drink. Josh hit on me and at first I thought he was just being nice, but he genuinely thought we were the same age. I left and went home and told Maggie about it and she gave me a makeover to help me look younger. She told me to just keep all my information the same, just alter it to make me more desirable to companies."

She shrugged, "I didn't think it would work and Maggie convinced me it wouldn't hurt anything. Like I said, I was desperate."

He looked at her, flabbergasted, "Why?"

"Because I had just left my husband, who had spent all our daughter's college tuition. I needed to support myself and pay for her school."

Charles rocked back in his chair, looking like he'd just been punched in the gut.

"I know it's a lot, I'm sorry," Liza said quietly.

He shook his head to clear it, "But that still doesn't explain how Josh blackmailed you."

"He knew. I told him after we had been dating for a while. It didn't feel right to lie to him. But I made him promise not to tell anyone because I was afraid I'd lose my job."

"I see," he said, his expression hardening.

"I wanted to tell everyone at work too, after we all got so close. It didn't feel right to lie to all of you either. Especially after the Hamptons," she said looking him in the eye.

His eyes softened slightly, "But you didn't."

"I tried. I told Kelsey and she flipped out and then made me swear not to tell anyone else because of Millennial. She didn't want her imprint to fail."

"So Kelsey is blackmailing you as well?"

"I guess. She also told me not to get involved with you, that sleeping with the boss would be bad for everyone," she said looking down at her cup.

Charles sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Liza, I won't lie to you, it could be complicated, but I would never let anything from my personal life effect anyone at work," he lowered his voice, "Any more than it already has."

"I know," she paused, "I saw the show, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

"Pauline thinks we should try and get back together. I told her we had a lot to try and figure out. I want her to be a part of the girls' life, but I have no intention of getting back together with her."

"Does she know that?"

"She lives in her own fantasy world, that's part of what split us apart in the first place. Reality didn't match her fantasy. So she left. I was devastated, but I've realized I wasn't really happy when I was with her. I didn't feel alive. Not like I do when I'm with you," he said looking her in the eye.

Liza's breath caught as his gaze burned through her. The butterflies in her stomach were having their own Burning Man festival. She felt giddy and anxious, but mostly she felt a sudden need to be away from here, somewhere where they could be alone.

She opened her mouth to speak, but found her throat was dry. She swallowed hard and tried again, "Can we go somewhere more..." she trailed off, looking around.

"Private?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," she whispered, looking back at him.

He stood, picking up her bags with one hand and offering the other to her. She accepted, pulling herself up from the chair. She held his hand as he led them out of the airport to the taxi stand. They climbed into the first available cab, Charles gave the name of a nearby hotel to the driver as they settled into the backseat.

Liza felt his hand rest casually on her thigh as she looked out the window, watching the airport slide away from them. She continued to stare out the window, but she was keenly aware of the heat of his hand. Her heart skipped a beat and she held her breath when she felt his fingers lightly tracing circles on her inner thigh. She closed her eyes and shifted ever so slightly, giving him as much access as she could in the cramped space. Her pulse raced as he took advantage, slowly moving higher, the circles bringing his fingers closer to where she desperately wanted them. Anticipation raced through her veins, fire building within her, her breath came out in shallow pants.

Suddenly he stopped, she felt him pull his hand away, her leg cold where it had been. Startled, she opened her eyes and looked out the window. They were stopped in front of a hotel.

"We're here," he whispered to her gruffly.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. She opened her door and climbed out of the taxi as Charles paid the driver. He collected her bags from the seat next to him and joined her on the sidewalk.

They stepped into the lobby of the hotel, it was empty at this hour. Liza sat in a chair as Charles went to the front desk to get a room for the night. Her mind raced over everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Last night Josh came to her to confess that he still loved her, but then married Claire this morning. She knew it was better for him to move on, but she worried about his decision. Yet, here she was with Charles. She knew she loved him and she wanted to be with him, but she knew there would be complications along the way. Pauline. Work. Kelsey... She took a deep breath. They would figure it out. She looked up to see Charles walking toward her, key in hand. She smiled and stood to join him.

They rode in the elevator in silence, his hand resting on the small of her back. The butterflies in her stomach were back, racing around in circles. She held her breath as she watched the numbers on the wall. When the doors finally opened, her heart felt like it would burst. Charles gestured for her to step out first, then followed with her luggage.

She had no idea where she was going and was thankful when he guided her to a room not far from the elevator. He opened the door for her and she walked in, turning on the light. After a few steps, she stopped to survey the sparsely furnished room. Most of the space was taken up by the king size bed, but there was also a TV and a small table.

She could sense him behind her, locking the door and settling her luggage in the closet. She held her breath as he approached her, closing her eyes as he brushed her hair aside and kissed the curve of her neck. She shivered and melted into him, his hands caressing her arms.

"I know it's not much," he said, his mouth working up her neck.

"It's fine-" she gasped as he nipped her ear, his hands searching for the zipper to her dress. "Shouldn't we finish our conversation first?"

His hands stilled, "Did you lie about anything else?"

"What? No!" She exclaimed, trying to turn to look at him.

He held her still, "Do you want this?" He whispered, his lips brushing her ear, his fingers pulling her zipper down slowly.

"Yes," she rasped, her head falling back against his shoulder.

"Good," he said, sliding his hands across the skin of her back. "Anything else can wait." He pushed the straps of her dress down off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

She looked down at the dress, the yellow bright against the carpet. She wasn't sure she would ever wear it again, but this was a much better memory of it than why she had put it on. All her thoughts vanished as Charles spun her around, his gaze intense. Her heart stopped when his eyes met hers. He pulled her to him with one hand, the other gently tracing the line of her jaw.

"None of it changes how I feel about you," he said softly before capturing her mouth with his.

She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair. He nipped at her bottom lip, demanding access. She sighed, welcoming him, her nails scraping against his scalp. He growled low in his throat and pulled her hips against his roughly, grinding against her. She keened, her hands sliding down his chest to slip under his shirt, fingers splaying across his stomach. He gasped, pulling away enough to unbutton the top two buttons and yank both shirts off over his head.

Liza ran her hands along his chest, lightly dragging her nails across his skin. He closed his eyes, his fingers squeezing her hips as her hands found their way up his neck. She pulled his head down, bringing hips lips back to hers. Her hands slid back down his neck, fingers trailing across his shoulders. His hands glided up her back, tangling themselves in her hair as he cradled her head. She traced the line of his lip with her tongue, he moaned softly, his fingers clenching her hair. Her hands found their way to his belt, fingers working the buckle, then the button and fly of his pants. She pushed them down off his hips, gently stroking him through his boxers.

"Liza..." he moaned hoarsely, breaking their kiss. She opened her eyes, looking directly into his. "Are you sure?" He asked, watching her closely.

In response, she continued her ministrations, applying slightly more pressure. Growling low in his throat, he picked her up, quickly striding to the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist, rolling up against him. Her hands gripping his hair as she claimed his mouth. Reaching the bed in three long strides, he lifted a knee onto the mattress, gently lowering them onto the bed. He broke the kiss to explore the hollow of her neck with his lips, his hands working the clasp of her bra. Freeing her of the garment, he tossed it aside. She writhed beneath him, rolling her hips up against him, her nails lightly scraping the skin of his back. He hummed against her, his lips leaving a trail of kisses from her neck down between her breasts. Holding himself up with one hand, the other roamed her torso. His fingers circling a nipple before pulling it into his mouth. Liza cried out, arching up into him, nails digging into his shoulders.

His hand slid down to her hip, hooking a finger under the top of her underwear, continuing to kiss along her stomach. She mewled when she felt his breath against her hip, fingers clenching the blanket. He shifted his weight off her, using both hands to remove her final piece of clothing. She gasped as he pressed his lips to her inner thigh, lightly grazing his teeth across the tender skin. He shifted again, removing his boxers and socks before returning his lips to hers. Her hands immediately lost themselves in his hair, nails scratching at his scalp. He held himself up with one hand, while the other lightly grazed her skin.

His fingers were everywhere but where she desperately needed them. Her breath was ragged and she felt like she would burst. His fingers traced circles below her navel, slowly moving lower, her breath caught when he brushed across the top of her cleft. His fingers slipped between the folds, her breath coming out in a low moan as he circled her clit. She bucked her hips as he circled faster, matching her racing heart. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, every muscle tensing.

Sensing she was close, Charles carefully shifted again, never moving his hand away from her, placing himself between her thighs. She pulled up her knees, shifting her hips to accommodate him. Every nerve in her body was pulled tight, fire was pooling inside her, her hips arched and she screamed as he pinched her clit, body shuddering in release.

She cried out again as he slammed into her, arching up into him, pulling him in deeper. He moaned, pulling back to slam into her again, setting the pace fast and hard. She wrapped her legs around him, keeping him close. Her body thrummed with energy, every touch sent sparks through her, feeding the fire that was building inside her again. Feeling her tighten around him, he increased his speed. She arched, her fingernails leaving marks in his skin. She cried out, lifting her hips to his to match his final thrusts. He let out a short cry as he pushed deep inside her, then stilled, collapsing on his elbows, his forehead resting on her shoulder.

"Wow," she rasped. "That was..."

"Short?" He said, still laying on her shoulder.

"No! Well, yes, but I was going to say _intense_." She shifted her legs off his back, relaxing her hips.

He lifted his head, shifting his weight to look at her. "It was amazing."

She smiled up at him, "It was."

He traced the edge of her face lightly with his fingers, gently cupping her cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. He bent down and brushed his lips against hers softly. She sighed, opening to him, a soft moan escaped her as he kissed her thoroughly. He broke away to kiss along her jaw, down to her neck, her body sparking with each one.

"Charles," she whispered, "I-" she gasped as his teeth grazed her collar bone.

He looked at her, her hair swirled around her head, lips kiss swollen, her eyes half closed. He smiled down at her, "I'm sorry. You must be exhausted," he said, kissing her chastely before gently extricating his body from hers. Retrieving his boxers from the floor, he slipped them on while she went into the bathroom. He arranged the pillows and blankets on the bed so they could sleep.

She returned from the bathroom and picked up his plaid shirt from the floor, pulling it free of the sweater. Walking toward the bed, she pulled it on over her head, the hem barely reaching the top of her thighs. He sucked in a breath, pulling the blankets back on the bed, "Get in there before I change my mind about sleeping."

She smiled sleepily and crawled into the bed. He tucked the blankets around her, then went into the bathroom himself. When he came out, she was asleep. He turned off the light and climbed in bed behind her, careful not to wake her. As he was drifting off, she turned and cuddled up to him, sighing contentedly as he settled an arm around her. There was plenty of time for other things tomorrow, right now, this was all that mattered.

 **A/N: I started this FOREVER ago, but suffered many creative blocks while trying to write it. Hopefully it still flows properly! Is it June 5th yet?**


End file.
